BOSTON, Dec. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The Coalition for Responsible Peace in the Middle East (http://www.c4rpme.org) is calling on lay members of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to demand a full accounting of meetings between church officials and representatives from Hezbollah. Hezbollah is an Iranian- and Syrian-backed terror group listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S., Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and the European Parliament. It seeks Israel's destruction and is determined to turn Lebanon into a radical Islamist state.

The coalition also asks members to scrutinize the PC(USA)'s connections to the Middle East Council of Churches, which organized at least two of the meetings.

"The moral blindness of some Presbyterian leaders needs to be confronted by church members. The meeting with Hezbollah demonstrates exactly how extremist and irresponsible the anti-Israel ideologues in the church are. What can good Christians learn from terrorists?" says Rabbi Eugene Korn, Director of Jewish Affairs for the American Jewish Congress.

The coalition is responding to an October meeting between officials of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and Hezbollah officials in Lebanon. This is the third meeting between PC(USA) members and Hezbollah since June 2004, when a delegation from the denomination's San Francisco Theological Seminary met with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

In October 2004, Ronald StoneRonald Stone, a former professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and an elder at a local church in Pittsburgh, praised the group for its willingness to dialogue with him and said that his discussions with Islamic leaders are "a lot easier than dealings and dialogue with Jewish leaders."

The most recent meeting between PC(USA) officials and Hezbollah received extensive play in the Arab press.

"The Middle East Council of Churches arranged at least two of the meetings," says Dexter Van Zile, Christian Outreach Director for the David Project Center for Jewish Leadership. "It's one thing to draw attention to the suffering of Christians in the Middle East, but this group is allowing church leaders to be used for propaganda purposes."

Roz Rothstein, National Director for StandWithUs says her contacts in the PC(USA) are clearly outraged by continued meetings with Hezbollah.

"Jews in the U.S. should not consider Presbyterian lay members indifferent to Hezbollah's agenda," she said. "The fact that Hezbollah killed 241 U.S. Marines in 1983 is not lost on them."